Bulldogs escape Jackets

By Jason QueenCorrespondent

Friday

Jan 5, 2018 at 10:54 PMJan 6, 2018 at 5:05 PM

Thomasville finally finished off a few possessions. Then the Bulldogs finished off Lexington.

Thanks to an improved effort on the defensive glass, Thomasville rallied then held on for a wild 91-84 Central Carolina Conference win at archrival Lexington on Friday. Lexington had 14 offensive rebounds in the first half and consequently took a 48-40 lead into the locker room. But the Bulldogs limited those second and third chances in the second half, forcing Lexington to one contested shot on most possessions.

That was a big point of emphasis for Thomasville coach James Atkinson at the half. “We started playing basketball, and rebounding,” Atkinson said. “I told them they had to do three things to win: play good defense, which is rebounding, execute on offense, and have fun. We didn’t do any of that in the first half.

“The second half, we did it. And we got the result we wanted.”

It sure wasn’t easy. Nasheed Peoples was a one-man wrecking crew in the first half, turning six offensive rebounds into a 17-point effort in the first two periods. Thomasville was clearly flustered, as Peoples and his teammates just seemed to want it more than the Bulldogs.

But that changed after the break. Cameron Whiteside, who finished with 32 points and 17 boards, buried a 3 and got fouled to get the Bulldogs within 54-48. A 7-1 Thomasville spurt to end the period knotted things up at 63-all after three.

Tied at 71 midway through the fourth, Jordan Williams nailed a huge 3 that seemed to allow Thomasville to finally exhale. He hit a free throw, then Kendrick Breaux found Whiteside in the lane for an easy bucket. That made it 77-71, and gave the Bulldogs a little working margin.

Lexington put together a furious rally over the next minute, and got within 82-79 with 1:05 to go. But, on Taylor Jenkins’ second free throw attempt, Cameron Peoples was whistled for a lane violation, giving Jenkins another shot. Moments later, Peoples was slapped with a technical foul for his response to the lane violation. By the time the smoke cleared, Thomasville led 87-79 with 47 ticks left and the Jackets couldn’t recover.

Lexington coach Jon Weavil was disappointed with the loss, and shrugged at the big technical. “The explanation I got was, my kid stepped in, referee called a lane violation, and my kid waved his hand at him,” Weavil said. “And he said he T’d him up. He said my kid didn’t say a word to him, he just waved his hand. He said that’s the rule.

“But I told him, at that stage in the game right there, you don’t make that call with a 16-, 17-year-old kid. That right there was huge; they get the extra free throw, the two (technical) free throws, they hit all three of them, then they get the ball back. That right there kind of takes the whole wind out of what we’re doing late.”

Justin Cunningham kicked in 17 points for the Bulldogs, who also got 12 points each from Williams and Nydrick Jenkins.